Conventionally, water which drains from a sink or basin, such as a restroom sink, travels through the drain opening of the sink and empties into undersink piping. The undersink piping directs the water from the sink into the building's waste water system. The undersink drain piping is commonly referred to as a "P-trap" drain assembly, and "P-trap" assemblies are common to many sinks in both commercial and residential applications.
The P-trap assembly generally includes a vertical pipe section which extends downwardly from the sink drain opening and extends below the sink to couple with a J-shaped pipe section. The J-shaped pipe section makes a 180.degree. bend and then extends vertically upward to couple with an L-shaped pipe section which makes a 90.degree. bend from the J-shaped section to extend generally horizontally into the wall to connect the P-trap with the waste water system of the building. The P-trap creates a vapor barrier preventing undesirable vapors from passing back into the building through the drain piping. The J-shaped section also serves the purpose of capturing or trapping any foreign objects which fall down the drain and which may become lodged in the waste water drainage system therefore clogging the system, hence the name "P-trap". Under the force of gravity, any foreign objects will sit in the bottom of the J-shaped section to be subsequently removed, such as by a plumber.
Also extending below sinks are hot and cold water supply pipes commonly referred to as supply water angle valves, which include supply line sections which extend generally horizontally from the wall to connect to a valve and faucet line sections that extend generally vertically upward from the valve to connect to the sink faucet apparatus.
Current building regulations require that restroom facilities in a public building, such as restroom sinks, be accessible to all people, including disabled persons and particularly those disabled persons who must use a wheelchair. Persons in wheelchairs must usually maneuver the chair partially under a restroom sink to access it. Since the water supply pipes and P-trap drain pipes protrude from the wall under the sink, there is a risk of abrasions to the person's legs from the hard piping or even burns from the temperature of the piping caused by the water passing therethrough. The current federal and state regulations regarding undersink piping, most notably the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), require that the P-trap and water supply piping be covered and insulated so as to protect a person using the sink from being burned or from incurring injuries from impact with the piping. As a result of these regulations, various methods and apparatuses have been utilized to try and adequately cover and insulate undersink P-traps and water supply piping.
In the past, one of the more popular methods of insulation was to utilize loose foam insulation which was wrapped around the piping. However, traditional foam insulation usually fits poorly and is difficult to secure resulting in wasted time and frustration by the plumber or other installer. Furthermore, the foam wrap, due to its poor fit and inadequate securing means, is not very aesthetically pleasing in its appearance. Additionally, the ribbed construction of a wrapped pipe leaves ridges and cavities which trap dirt and other bacteria under the sink.
Various other methods and apparatuses have been utilized to cover a P-trap and supply piping beneath a sink as is evidenced by various patents in the field. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,463, which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, discloses an apparatus for covering a P-trap piping assembly. However, besides having other drawbacks, many of these other devices and methods are still difficult and time consuming to secure and use. For example, many of the prior art devices require that a large number of cuts be made on the device for proper installation. Not only must cuts be made to shape the pieces of the device for installation, but the individual pieces must also be cut and trimmed for a proper fit.
Such cutting and trimming steps and procedures are time consuming and inconvenient, thus making the installation process slow, inefficient and not very cost effective. Furthermore, the cutting and trimming procedures require that the installer have a special cutting tool available. As may be appreciated, given the nature of such devices, many installations will be handled by plumbers who may not have the proper cutting tool readily available, thus further increasing the inconvenience and inefficiency of the installation.
Furthermore, if a proper cutting tool is not available, the installer may try to cut and trim the pieces with some other tool. As such, the insulation device may be damaged or destroyed, thus jeopardizing the insulative and protective properties of the device. Furthermore, the device will not present a pleasant appearance when installed.
Still further, even if a cutting tool is available, care must be taken to make a proper cut around the device, such as to trim it to length. Since such devices generally are not flat, this can present problems as well. The cuts will not be uniform or smooth, and the functionality and aesthetics of the device will be reduced.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a simple and sanitary P-trap cover assembly and method which addresses the shortcomings of the existing devices and methods.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide such a cover assembly and method which addresses the shortcomings of prior art devices, and which is still effective to prevent a disabled person from being burned or bruised and cut by the piping when using a sink.
It is further an objective to provide proper insulation while reducing the complexity of the installation procedure.
It is still another objective to eliminate some of the tools that have been necessary in the past for installation.
It is still another objective to make the installation process faster and more efficient, and therefore, cost effective.